AN innocent game of hide-and-seek turned into a nightmare for an 11-year-old girl after she decided to take cover in a washing machine.

The girl was playing inside her Utah home with her older sister and their cousins on Tuesday when she became stuck inside the machine.

It seemed like a good idea at the time but she failed to consider that the door touched the dryer above - giving her little room to get out.

That prompted the other children and an aunt to take action by trying all sorts of things to get the girl out of the sticky situation. Among them smearing the girl in butter and peanut butter! They even tried ice. But all attempts failed.

Her mother arrived home after a panicked call from her older daughter and contacted 911.

Firefighters arrived within minutes and were able to pull the girl free - about 90 minutes after the ordeal began.

The girl suffered bruising - and a lot of embarrassment.

"She loves to win," the mother, Nicole Rhoades, told Fox 13 News.

"She's pretty competitive."

"I felt bad for her, but at the same time, I found it pretty funny," said Rhoades, adding that her daughter is now laughing about the incident.